iLove the '90s
by writerchic16
Summary: Spencer, Carly, Sam and Freddie watch "The '90s Are All That" on late-night TeenNick.


iLove the '90s

Summary: Spencer, Carly, Sam and Freddie watch "The '90s Are All That" on late-night TeenNick.

A/N: So I've been watching _The '90s Are All That_, and this story happened. *shrugs* Enjoy. (Oh, not that it really matters, but this takes place between _iParty with Victorious _and _iOMG_.)

Also, if you like this story (or just want to be nice) please follow me on Twitter, I'm writerchic16 there too!

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><p>"Hey, look at this one," Carly said, pointing to the comment she was talking about. After school, she and her friends had, as usual, gathered at her place. With nothing better to do, they'd started going through the latest comments on their website. "It's another guy asking me out on a date. And he left his phone number. Should I call him?" When Freddie and Sam looked doubtful, she explained, "Oh, not to say yes. I meant like how celebrities sometimes call their fans."<p>

"Wouldn't you be taking a chance there?," Sam replied. "What if he's some super-obsessive crazy person? At the very least, he's not too bright since he posted his phone number for all of iCarly to see." She paused. "Unless it's one of those disposable cell phones, and this 'fan' _actually_ wants to lock us up in a basement. It's happened before."

"Even if he's not crazy, he might be disappointed if you're just calling to chat," Freddie pointed out. "And not taking him up on his offer."

"Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I'll just email him a thank-you note. He's posted nice stuff about the show before," Carly compromised. She clicked on the username, typed a quick message about how much she appreciates his support but as a rule doesn't date fans, and sent it off.

As she got herself a snack out of the fridge, Sam asked, "So, where's Spencer? Haven't seen him in the half hour since we got here."

"Oh, I passed his room before. He's taking a nap," Carly explained. At her friends' curious glances, she shrugged. "It's so weird, he's been really tired the past few days." Thinking about that, she went over to the stairs and shouted, "_Spencer_! _You awake_?"

"I am now!"

"It's four 'o clock in the afternoon! You better wake up now or you'll never be able to sleep tonight!"

Minutes later, still wiping his eyes and wearing a robe, Spencer walked downstairs. "Hey," he greeted. "What are you guys up to? Planning the next iCarly?" While they looked on in disbelief, he went into the kitchen and began to make himself a cup of coffee.

"What's with you?" Carly demanded. "Why are you so tired?"

Concerned, Freddie asked, "Yeah, are you sick? 'Cause my mom's got every over-the-counter med you could possibly need. I'll go get-"

"No thanks, it's okay. I'm not sick," Spencer interrupted.

"Then _what_?"

Looking a little ashamed, Spencer told Carly, "You wouldn't understand."

"Been sneaking out at night to meet a girl?" Sam guessed. When Spencer was offended, she explained, "My mom meets dates that way all the time."

Freddie frowned. "Why?"

"No idea. I think it's something to do with that one time I saw a guy put his wedding ring in his pocket while waiting for her," Sam replied.

At that, the three teens gave Spencer accusing looks. "I'm not having an affair!" he retorted defensively. "I'm...I'm..." He sighed. "I'm watching T.V."

"Can't you just record whatever it is?" Carly asked.

"Well, _Sam_," he began, glaring at her,"has a habit of going through our DVR and deleting whatever she feels like."

Sam shrugged. "Not all the time. Just when there are shows on that I _need_ to watch, and my T.V. doesn't have the channel."

"Okay, what's so important that you had to worry about Sam's unpredictable rudeness?" Freddie asked, a little curious.

Ashamed Spencer quietly replied, "TeenNick."

"TeenNick?" Carly asked, confused. "The cable channel that plays old _Nickelodeon_ shows?"

"Don't judge me! Nostalgia is a powerful emotion!"

"Nostalgia? They're from like five years ago..."

Spencer shook his head. "No, see, it's this new block called _The '90s Are All That_. They're playing a bunch of shows that haven't seen the light of day in about fifteen years. I used to watch them all the time when I was younger and I'm so excited to see them again!"

The other three gave him blank stares, not comprehending why he was so thrilled. "I don't get it," Sam said. "Sure, I used to watch Barney. Doesn't mean that now I want to watch some guy in a purple dinosaur costume dance around to lame kiddie songs."

"No, that's not it," Spencer insisted, pacing as he spoke. "The 1990s were the golden age of children's programming. Nickelodeon was at its _peak_. You had _All That_, _Kenan & Kel_, _Clarissa Explains It All_, _The Secret World of Alex Mack_...really, just _excellent_ shows that were _so_ much better than any show for kids on T.V. today."

Slightly offended, Carly argued, "Hey, there's good stuff for us on T.V.! What about, like...um..._Wizards of Waverly Place_? It's pretty decent."

Freddie scoffed. "Have you seen that lately?"

"Yeah, first few seasons were good, but the current one tanks," Sam added.

"Exactly. You younger teens missed an era of pure greatness," Spencer assured them. "Do you even recognize any of the shows I mentioned?"

Carly, Sam and Freddie exchanged bewildered looks, going through their memories but not recognizing the titles. "_All That_ kind of sounds familiar," Carly finally said. "Didn't Tori mention it when we were at Kenan Thompson's house?" Her eyes widened. "_Oh_! _Kenan & Kel_! I did hear that he was on Nickelodeon before he joined _Saturday Night Live_!"

"How can you know of Kenan Thompson, but _not_ know he was on _All That_ and _Kenan & Kel_" Spencer let out an aggravated sigh, disgusted by their pop culture ignorance. He paused when he got an idea. "Okay, all four of us are staying up until two in the morning to watch every minute of _The '90s Are All That_ tonight. I guarantee that you will laugh harder than you ever laughed before at a T.V. show."

With no hesitation whatsoever, Sam shrugged. "I'm in."

"I'm not," Freddie said. "If I was, I'd have to stay here until then. My mom would never let me leave our apartment that late."

"You can hang out with us. I'm sure Sam planned on eating dinner here anyway," Carly replied.

Sam nodded. "It's true."

"Oh, thanks Carly. I'll just tell my mom we're working on some big iCarly project."

Overjoyed that they were all in agreement, Spencer jumped in the air as he exclaimed, "_Yes_! I can't wait for you guys to see this. It's almost like they brought back _Snick_. They've even got the big orange couch." When the teens stared at him blankly again, he rolled his eyes. "Never mind."

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><p>At a quarter to midnight, Carly finished making popcorn while her friends and Spencer took seats on the couch. She took the steaming bag from the microwave, carefully opened it at the corners, and dumped it in a <em>huge<em> serving bowl. "Popcorn's done!" she announced. "Everyone want extra butter?"

"Yes please!"

"Of course!"

"Duh, are you new?"

Shaking her head in amusement, Carly put butter in a small dish, zapped it in the microwave, then poured the melted goodness over their snack. "You guys have drinks?" They all held up theirs in response, so she got herself a bottle of water, and carried it along with the bowl over to the living room, purposely sitting in between Freddie and Sam. She knew letting either friend hold the popcorn bowl would be asking for an argument.

As a rerun of _What I Like About You_ ended, Freddie asked, "So what show is on first?"

"_All That_," Spencer answered. "They started from the beginning. Which is great because I _loved_ the original cast."

Sam raised an eyebrow at that. "'Original cast'? From what I remember it was always..." Popcorn already in one hand, she pointed at the television with the other. "That chick. Not the blonde, the brown-haired one."

"Amanda Bynes," Carly finished. "Yeah, it was her, and uh...Britney Spears' sister right? Jamie Lynn?" When her friends nodded, she continued, "And...oh, I forget who else."

Incredulous Spencer stared at them. "Uh, _wrong_! The _original_ cast had Kenan, Kel, Lori Beth..."

"Who?" Freddie asked.

Spencer groaned, then suddenly pointed at the screen. "Oh my God, it's starting! I'm so happy!"

"'This content may not be suitable for anyone who didn't grow up on '90s Nick,'" Sam read as the melodramatic warning appeared on screen. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, more like anyone who isn't a losersin their twenties who doesn't have to wake up early for work the next day." The others shushed her as the episode began, opening on a "Good Burger" scene.

Automatically laughing, Spencer gave them background info on the sketch. "Oh, this is a classic! You see, Kel plays this wacky fast food restaurant employee..."

"You keep saying 'Kel' like we should know who he is," Carly interrupted.

"Kel Mitchell. He was a comedic _genius_," Spencer replied. At their saddened expressions, he quickly added, "Oh no, he's not dead, just a has-been. You know he's on Twitter now?"

The group became quiet, focusing on the show...and laughing at every sketch. Always a fan of sketch comedy, Carly loved all the crazy characters, and the actors were _so_ talented. Glancing at her friends, she could tell they were reacting the same way. She vaguely remembered now that iCarly fans often said that the show's plays often reminded them of _All That_, and though flattered, she'd never thought too much of it.

Briefly she wondered if she and Sam should do a tribute to an _All That_ sketch. From what her brother said, "Good Burger" was pretty popular. Or maybe this "Vital Information," they could easily set up a background and think of some funny facts.

When the show was over, Spencer sighed. "Aw man, they cut out the musical guest again! Those were awesome! They had impressive acts." Thinking about it, he listed, "Let's see, there was Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls..." He glared at them. "If either of you asks me 'who?' one more time, I _swear_ I'll cry!"

"No it's okay, we know _them_," Freddie assured him.

They continued to watch, laughing hysterically at the _Kenan & Kel_ episode, then staring in amazement at the questionable '90s "fashion" on _Clarissa Explains It All_.By the second mini-episode of _Doug_, the teens were ready to get some sleep. Stretching her arms, Carly stood, glancing at the clock. "This was fun Spencer, but it's late, and we have school tomorrow..."

"Yeah, Mom's going to be a really mad," Freddie said, also getting ready to go. "I told her I'd be home two hours ago, so I turned my phone off. I'll just tell her it ran out of battery and we were really into finishing our iCarly project."

"No one cares. 'Night, dork," Sam teased.

Carly also said good night, much more politely, and Freddie left. Figuring that Spencer wouldn't move from the couch, she'd set up a sleeping bag for Sam in her room, so the two cleaned up the popcorn then walked over to the stairs. "Good night, Spencer."

"You too," he called, not turning away from the screen. Shaking their heads, the girls went upstairs and left Spencer to indulge in his nostalgia.


End file.
